A few weeks ago, Samsung finally explained what caused the Galaxy Note 7 fires and explosions that killed the highly praised phablet soon after it started selling in stores. But the company never said what it planned to do with the huge pile of brand new and briefly used Galaxy Note 7 units that it collected from all over the world when it recalled the failed phone. Unconfirmed reports said that Korean giant might consider reselling a refurbished Galaxy Note 7 after it fixes whatever caused the batteries to catch fire. Now, a fresh rumor out of Asia claims the same thing, potentially revealing more details about Samsung’s intentions.
According to Hankyung, Samsung will replace the original 3,500 mAh battery with either a 3,000 mAh or a 3,200 mAh battery. The refurbished Galaxy Note 7 units will then be sold in certain markets, including India and Vietnam. Samsung has recovered 98% of the more than 3 million Galaxy Note 7 units it shipped worldwide, but the company is yet to make any announcements regarding the future of the phablet.
The report doesn’t mention actual pricing information for the refurbished phablet, but it does say that Samsung plans to relaunch the phone by June. It’s unclear at this time whether the phone will be available in any markets outside of India and Vietnam.
Either way, Samsung still has a major problem on its hands. The company has to find a way to dispose of the large number of Galaxy Note 7 batteries it’s been collecting and storing for the past couple of months, and the entire process has to be environmentally friendly. Reselling a refurbished version of the phone to consumers might the handsets themselves, but all of those old batteries still need to be disposed of.
